As Matt Prior assured the assembled cricket media that his wicketkeeping was much improved since his previous stint with England, a pen top wielded interrogatively by the man from the Mirror suddenly flew towards him in alarming fashion. It went straight through his hands and smacked him in the chest. He was quick to spot the implication. "That's not a good start," he said.

Prior is the one English wicketkeeper whose run-scoring potential might one day approach the standards set by Adam Gilchrist and Kumar Sangakkara, yet he has collected more flak than runs and catches. In the one-day series against South Africa, beginning at Headingley tomorrow, he has a second chance to establish himself beyond doubt. He is capable of doing just that.

He was probably at his most unfortunate during the infamous Jellybean Affair at Trent Bridge last year when England lobbed a piece of confectionary on to the pitch in front of the Indian tail-ender Zaheer Khan, who took umbrage. England looked infantile, and Zaheer responded by bowling like a man possessed to win the Test. Prior, who happened to field the press conference at the end of the day, and who with some justification had gained a reputation for being too mouthy on the field, became a symbol of England's unappealing side.

Another story which did the rounds was that he had been caught on the stump mic sledging Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest living batsman, by telling him that he drove a Porsche, but Prior is adamant that his banter has been misconstrued and that he would not be so crass.

"It wasn't the quietest of summers," he agreed. "It is very easy to get quite intense. However it comes out on the field you are just trying to put your best performance in. When you arrive on the international scene there is a lot to learn, and most of it is off the field rather than on it. To have that experience behind me now is massive. Hopefully I will be able to deal with things better this time round. I have come back as a much more mature person and cricketer. An experience like that changes you. You grow up pretty quickly."

Prior was not just dropped from the national side, outside the England set-up his approach was condemned. It shook him greatly. One man who has helped guide him through a troubled absence from the team is Alec Stewart, who is his agent as well as the last England wicketkeeper to possess similar batting ability.

Stewart also pushed professionalism to its limits - his more outrageous appeals were known to bring a brief splurge of condemnation - but he largely escaped censure because he was successful, extraordinarily dedicated, perceived as decent and upstanding and so proud to be English that he once dedicated a hundred to the Queen Mother on her birthday.

"I have used Alec quite a lot, as much from a tactical/mental point of view and as a guy to speak to rather than for technical matters," Prior said. "He has been brilliant, as he always has been. To have his experience at Sussex or at the end of a telephone is a great help."

The wicketkeeping debate sounded endlessly during Stewart's own career. Arguments raged over whether he should open and keep wicket, or keep wicket at all. He then took the captaincy on as well. Prior - dropped after 10 Tests (average 40) and 23 ODIs (average a disappointing 21) - asked him whether he should perhaps abandon his wicketkeeping and press his claims in the one-day side as a specialist batsman. "It wouldn't be right to say I thought about giving up keeping, but you do find yourself looking at avenues," Prior said. "My goal was to get back playing for England. There were times when I thought, 'Maybe if I didn't keep, my batting average would escalate and I could try and get in just as a batsman.' But Stewie said, 'Why don't you keep and get your batting average up by 10 runs, and then you are not burning any bridges.' That quickly quashed any idea of ending the keeping."

Prior returns as an opening batsman, charged with giving the innings a pugnacious start while Ian Bell and Owais Shah play in more orthodox fashion. "That is where I have been batting for Sussex, with some success this summer," he said. "I am used to that role and feel confident I can do the job. The frustrating thing looking back was I always managed to get starts, but I didn't kick on. When I was left out some said, 'That's it for him'; others, 'He'll never be back.' So to come back and perform for Sussex as I have done this summer is something I am quite proud of.

"You look at the Gilchrists, the Stewarts, the Sangakkaras - Jack Russell even - they were all peaking towards the end of their careers. It is when you have the most experience. You are at ease with yourself as well. You are pretty comfortable with life. You relax and let it happen."